The programme I'm listening to sounds terrible and/ or keeps breaking up.........

Net radio needs a smooth, fast connection to work well. You really need at least a 56k modem for it to work, and even then a number of factors could hamper its performance.

Your choice of Internet service provider, the time of day and the type of telephone line could all determine the quality of your Net connection. Check out http://webservices.cnet.com/bandwidth to test the speed of your connection (ignore the questions and just click on "go" to run the test). You need at least 40kbps for Net audio to work properly, although the best results - including quite respectable sound - are reserved for those lucky enough to have a broadband cable or ADSL connection.

I get an error message, or nothing happens, when I try to launch a new radio station

There are other, less popular, audio formats - Microsoft's Media Player and Apple's QuickTime at www.apple.com/quicktime are two that some stations use. Follow the links above to install their free players.